It’s here…the holiday that starts the sugar rush and leads us (it seems) right through into the New Year!

Now, I’m all for moderation and certainly do enjoy the occasional treat…but some of the Halloween treats that exist just seem plain ol’wrong. Electric green in color, stain your teeth black, rolled in sugar, stick to your teeth, ingredient lists of just sugar, or even worse, ingredient lists full of words we can’t pronounce! I don’t want these things going in my body, let alone that of my kiddo!

(Thankfully, at 14 months, she still doesn’t really get this Holiday! Save that battle for another year!)

Let’s talk strategy:

1. Offer Halloween Alternatives- Who says we need to trick-or-treat for candy? What about mini Play-Doh? Spider rings? Pencils? Bouncy Balls? Stickers? Want to stick with food- how about 100% fruit packs?

2. Discuss It- As a family, talk about how much candy is reasonable to eat? When? Where? Be open and be ready to negotiate and maybe even bargain. Perhaps the deal is a few treats can be eaten after supper at the table vs. eating mindlessly in front of the TV! Use it as a learning opportunity around healthy eating and what it means to you, your family and the kids! Giving everyone a little ownership on the situation means you don’t have to be the candy cop!

2. Fuel up First- Fill up with a healthy supper before trick-or-treating! A balanced meal will keep the lil’goblins satisfied and will help cut back on the “re-fueling” with candy!

3. Sort it- Have the kids sort the candy into things they love, dislike and only kind of like. Trash the dislike, give away the maybes and keep the love! Don’t want to trash it? Set up “shop” and buy back the Halloween treats from the kids! The kids can “sell” their Halloween treats back for cold, hard $$$ or actual items (i.e. 4 chocolate bars = $1 OR 4 chocolate bars = sticker book).

4. Out of Sight…Out of Mind- Package up the remaining candy into appropriate snack-sized portions. Stick it away in the cupboard and portion it out accordingly.